Tesco In Deganwy (Maybe)

Here's the front page of the Weekly News (24/Apr/08)

The story also appeared in last weeks Weekly News, but before the story could be run Tesco decided that Deganwy would not be a suitable location for its store. Mainly due to the lack of potential footfall.

This follows a visit from North Wales AM Mark Isherwood a couple of months ago. Apparently it had been suggested that a Tesco Express store would be good for the village and help bring more customers to the others shops. (All but ours, which would probably have to close). So he contacted Tesco to suggest they should consider coming to Deganwy.

After last weeks decision not to proceed, for some reason, somebody then re-approached Tesco and have asked them to revisit the idea. (Thanks a bunch!)

With my councillor candidate hat on; I can see that bringing a new shop to the village, especially if they bought the land by the railway, would have advantages. The main one being Car Parking.

But lets be pragmatic, all it would really do would bring more people in cars that would park in the stores car park, shop at Tesco and then they would get back in their car and drive away.

The disappointment this week was the suggestion that it could be located in the old Threshers store which is next door to our shop. We sell virtually exactly the same type of goods, due to limitations in the size of shop we may not have the range of goods, but we do sell the essentials. There is no way we would be able to compete on price and hence eventually all our business would disappear.

Other traders talk about attracting footfall into their shops, but we serve between 300 and 400 customers a day. If these customers choose not to visit the other shops, this is a issue for those businesses not ours. To suggest bringing in a direct competitor which in reality would just take our 300+ daily customers and move them next door.

It would impact our shop dramatically, could also impact the Chemist (not prescription, but most of everything else) and affect other local (independent) convenience stores. The impact on our shop would have major implications for the 8 part time/weekend staff, the 8 news delivery staff and the 300+ News Delivery Customers we deliver to everyday.

Maybe Tesco will put together a take over plan and buy me out. (I believe they also sell that rare bacon you get from flying pigs). We shall wait and see what happens next.

Shop Break In

It's never good getting a call just after 2am in the morning. The thoughts that cross your mind are first and foremost concern for family.
In this instance it was a call from North Wales Police informing us that we had had a break in at the shop.
So quickly dressed and arrived at the shop (only 3 hours earlier than I normally arrive). Two police officers were waiting.
CCTV have recorded the event, two young men (I have other words that are probably more appropriate here, but I'll leave that to your imagination) pulled up in a dark coloured Vauxhall car. Tried to break through the glass in the door, although smashed the toughen glass held in place, so they proceeded to kick the door in, breaking the framework. Once in they searched the shop, we have evidence of them that they were behind the shop counter. At this time the Alarm Siren activated and they did a runner. They were in the shop less than 60 seconds.

We have been fortunate that due to the extra security measures that we have in place the perpetrators (again replace with other words of your choice) left the shop with nothing.

Apart from wrecking our front door, window and frame they did not disturb the rest of the shop, meaning we managed to carry on with "normal" business for the rest of the day.

I would like to thank the Inspector, Officers and CCTV operatives of North Wales Police for there work during Tuesday evening. Once I cleared the Alarm system the officers allowed me to go home while they arranged for someone to make the door safe and between them and CCTV kept an eye on the shop until I returned at 5:30am.

Now we have to see what disturbance will occur to business when they come to replace the damaged parts of the shop. Currently £250 down (insurance excess) and counting.

Gymraeg "flyer"

Abnabyddir fi fel yr Isbostfeistr yn Neganwy a pherchenog y siop gyda fy’n wraig Kirsty ac mae gennym ddau fab.
Cyn dod yma yr oeddwn yn gyfrifol am gwmni mawr oedd yn cynhyrchu “International Telecommunications”; ond pan symudodd y swyddfeydd penderfynnais adael.. Am fy mod wedi cael profiad mewn diwydiant ac yn awr yn cyfarfod y cwsmeriaid,‘rwyf yn meddwl fod gennyf lawer I gynning fel cynghorwr annibynol. Rwyf yn byw yn Neganwy ac ar bwyllgor y trigolion; hefyd rwyf yn un o lywodraethwyr rhieni yr Ysgol.
Mae Kirsty yn gyfrifol am ail-ddechrau y symudiad Sgowt yn y Cyffordd.
Er nad wyf eto yn gallu siarad yriaith Gymraeg yr wyf yn ei chefnogi ac yn gobeithio y bydd y plant yn gallu mynd I Ysgol y Creuddyn.
Buaswn yn ddiolchgar iawn pe buasech yn fy newis I’ ch cynrychioli ar y cynghor. Os oes gennych unrhyw destun y buasech yn hoffi ei drafod byddaf yn falch I wrando.
Yr wyf wedi gosod safle rhyngrwydd er mwyn cysylltu a phawd. Os bydd eisiau clydiant arnoch i’r orsaf bleidleisio cysylltwch a mi.

Why no Welsh?

A few people have commented on the fact my leaflet does not include any Welsh. My decision not to include any Welsh was not an oversight but more an issue on the amount of space available to get my messages across. Also I am not a Welsh speaker and I did not want to give people the wrong impression that I was.


Saying that we are strong supporters of the Welsh language, one of the reasons we moved to Wales while the children were young was so that they would learn Welsh easier. Ysgol Deganwy is aiming to have 25% of it curriculum to be taught in welsh.
My eldest son Kallum has just started at the Language Centre (Canolfan laith) at Ysgol Dolgarrog. He will spend the next 12 weeks at Dolgarrog concentrating on gaining a basic knowledge of spoken Welsh. It is our hope that both our sons will go to Ysgol Y Creuddan. Through our sons, my wife and I hope to improve our own Welsh.



I have agreed to produce a shortened version of my flyer with a Welsh translation. My thanks to Mrs Wyn Jones and her friends who have translated part of my flyer. I'm in the process of producing the flyer and this will be available from the shop. A limited distribution will take place next week via the newspaper delivery staff.

Distibution of Election Flyers

I have completed the distibution of my election flyer to every home in the ward. Many Thanks to Alan, Sam, Joseph, Mandy, Matthew, Lesley, Iisha and Catherine for your help with the distribution.
So far I seem to be the only candidate to have distributed to every home. Others have been more selective on where they have distrbuted, others have not done any (yet!).

Returning Officer Meeting

Attended a meeting today in the Council Chamber at Bodlondeb.
Meeting chaired by the Returning Officer.
Very informative especially as this is my first election.
Main points covered included

• Rules on campaign literature
• Advertising especially regarding Highways property (lampposts etc) - i.e. don't
• Postal Vote distribution - starting from Tuesday 22nd April
• Opening of Postal Votes will commence from Friday 25th April - votes will not be counted by the postal votes will be verified.
• A member of the Electoral Commission may contact candidates to discuss campaigning.
• Rule/Code of Conduct for canvassing on Polling Day
• Presiding Officer will have responsibility to determine numbers of supporters/candidates allowed at Polling Stations, and to ensure electors privacy is respected. Also position of Cars with posters may be asked to be moved if to close to the entrance of Polling Stations.
• Details announced that Verification will commence from 10pm at Venue Cymru on Polling Day, no counting will take place until the 2nd May. Verification will check that the number of ballot papers for each station tally with number of papers distributed.
• Counting for County Councillors will commence at Venue Cymru from 9:30am on Friday 2nd May. It is hoped that the County results will be completed by lunch. (Community/Town Councils will commence at 2pm)
• There will be 17 counting tables in operation.
• Candidate, Spouse and one counting agent (predeclared) are allowed during Counting/Results. Other supports may be permitted if space permits (discretion of Returning Officer)
• Results will be declared at a podium as they are confirmed. The Returning Officer has requested that no speeches are given.
• Confirmation that Election Spending returns an submitted by 6th June. Seats could be lost if the submission does not take place.
• Mark Davies for NWales Police spoke at the meeting to detail some of the legal issues and process involved if any breaches occur.

I confirmed that Name Badges are allowed to be worn on Polling Days as well as Rosettes. Goronwy Edwards and Linda Groom kindly provided me with a couple of Black & White Independent Rosettes.

Postal Voters

Saturday Morning I received more information from the Deputy Returning Officer. This included an invite to a candidate/agent meeting at Bodlondeb on Tuesday (15/04) afternoon to discuss arrangements for the elections. I'm sure this will be extremely useful, as this is my first time standing and as I'm an Independent it's a case of learning on my feet.
(Although I do have a few people who have offered to help.)

For those who are unaware, as a Candidate you are allowed to nominate an Election Agent to act on your behalf. For those who are in political parties these are you usually assigned for candidates from supporters within the party. Agents help with administration and to monitor the election expenses. As an independent you either have to find someone to do this for you or you do it yourself. I choose to do this myself.

Also included in the pack on Saturday was a list of all the postal voters (as of 10/4/08). It was very interesting to see how many people where on the list. For the Deganwy ward there are 498 registered for postal votes this is 15% of the total electors. This may increase as it is still possible to apply for a postal vote until 16th April.
For canvassing purposes this is very important. Postal ballot papers are issued from 17th April so it is important to have made sure that you have provided information to all the postal voters by this time. Postal voters are also very likely to vote, as they have already made a decision to vote in this way.
I had already taken these timings into account and we will have distributed my flyer to every home in the ward within the next couple of days. (Thank you to everyone who has helped to distribute)

Badges Available

Any hardened supporters of my election campaign can now get a free badge from the shop (Deganwy Post Office).

Where it with pride and show everyone who you support :-> or just take one wear it under your coat.

The badges will hopefully give some light relief to the serious process of election campaigning, and I hope they will make a few people smile.

Deganwy Osteopathic Clinic - Thank you

A big thank you to Teresa Harcourt at Deganwy Osteopathic Clinic.

I've been having treatment over the past 4 months on my back and lower leg muscles.
Back in 2006, I ran a half marathon on behalf of the NSPCC, during my training I injured my
muscles around the Achilles tendons, but still manged to run the marathon raising around £650.

As we men do I ignored the problem for about six months, was then playing rounders with my family and friends on the beach and managed to tear my lower calf muscle.
After some treatment at Llandudno hospital I called Teresa to see if there was anything she could do to help.

The treatment over the past 4 months has healed my leg muscles and she's also managed to sort out my back (all that lifting of heavy newspaper bundles !). This week I received a clean bill of health, just in time for me to start delivering my election leaflets.

Anyone out there with muscular or back problems I definitely recommend you contact Teresa Harcourt at Deganwy Osteopathic Clinic. Tel: 01492 573500, 213 Station Road, Deganwy.

Campaign Leaflet

Jason WEYMAN (37)

Some residents will know me as the Subpostmaster and partner of Deganwy Post Office & Village Stores. My wife, (Kirsty) and I purchased the business in January 2004, we moved to Deganwy a few months earlier with our two sons Kallum (9) and Thomas (6).

Prior to moving to Deganwy I worked as a General Manager for an international telecommunications manufacturer. I held full managerial and financial responsibility for a multi-million pound division. Following a relocation of offices I decided to take redundancy, to manage our own business and move to North Wales.

With my experience in industry and retail, and my day to day contact with customers and residents of the ward, I believe I have much to offer the community as a County Councillor.
As well as a Resident, Trader and Employer in Deganwy, I’m also on the committee of the ‘Deganwy & District Residents Association’. I’m a Parent Governor at Ysgol Deganwy and Kirsty is the Scout Leader at the newly reopened group in Llandudno Junction.

I would greatly appreciate your support in the elections on Thursday 1st May. Based on results from 4 years ago I estimate I will need at least 500 of your votes to be able to represent you at County level.
Please contact me if you wish to discuss any of my views or if you need help getting to your Polling Station

I’m standing as an Independent candidate for a position on the County Borough Council. As an independent I will not be constrained by any party politics. Although the ward is named Deganwy it actually covers all of Llanrhos and most of Deganwy up to Pentwyn Rd.

The Deganwy and Llanrhos area has a vast array of businesses including 2 Post Offices, a Library, Hotels, Restaurants, Marina and a host of specialist shops and businesses. As well as these we have many people running their own businesses living in the ward. I believe that in this current uncertain financial climate the Council should be supporting and encouraging current and new business. Businesses should be allowed to diversify and use their entrepreneurial skills to secure a sustainable future.

A new Local Development Plan is in progress and will take some time before it is fully adopted. It is essential that it provides for a viable and prosperous future for our communities and the county. In the meantime, we are dealing with an adopted district plan from 1982. There has been significant change during the last 25 years, which should be considered when planning requests are submitted.

We have an excellent Primary School in Ysgol Deganwy, which achieved straight grade ones at its recent Estyn Inspection. We have many Voluntary and Charity Groups within the community. I want to protect the community and facilities we have, I then want to promote what we have and encourage more investment to enhance the area further and provide first rate public services

If elected I will be open and accessible to everybody in the ward. I will take ownership of issues, fight for our ward and make sure that progress is maintained and reported. I have set up an internet site to help keep people informed of my activities as a candidate and hopefully as a councillor.

Validity Of Nomination

Today I received a "Notice to Candidate as to Validity of Nomination" from the Deputy Returning Officer. This confirms that my nomination is valid and reminds me that a candidate may withdraw from their candidature no later than noon on Wednesday 9 April. This is something I will definitely not be doing.
Thank you for all your continued support and encouragement being shown at the shop/post office.

Candidate Activities To Date

I am standing for election for County Councillor, as an Independent Candidate.
The Deganwy Ward (incorporating Llanrhos) has two County Councillor positions.
The current councillors are Dennis Tew and David Hill, both Conservative.

On 1st May the elections will be held for the County Council (2 positions) and the Town Council (4 positions). I have decided to concentrate on the County Council only, as this is higher level of local government and the place I believe I can have most impact.

Having discussed my thoughts on becoming a potential councillor with many people, I finally made my up mind to become a candidate in January 2008.

My first action was to contact the Electoral department at Conwy County Borough Council to ensure that I received a nomination pack in March.
The nomination pack was received and my first job was reading through it to determine the rules and actions required to become a election candidate.
To become a candidate for County Councillor it is first necessary to obtain 10 nominations from residents(electors) of the ward in which you wish to stand.
Thank you to all 10 of my assessors for signing my form and allowing me to become a candidate.

The formal notice of the election took place on Thursday 27th March.
The "Nomination" and "Consent to Nomination" forms are allowed to be submitted between 28th March and 4th April. Having prepared my forms, I was able to meet with a representative of the Electoral dept and submit my forms to be checked on Friday 28th March. Thus, formally becoming a Candidate.

I appeared in the North Wales Weekly News on 6th March ago supporting a re-application by Niki Ips Chinese restaurant for a new wine bar in Deganwy and expressing my concerns of the shop closures in the village. Having met the Assembly's Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones and Conwy AM Gareth Jones at our post office a couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to use the reporting of this event to announce my decision to stand for election in an article in the Weekly News on 27th March.

My current thoughts and efforts are going into deciding how to promote my election campaign. As I work many hours as joint owner and sub postmaster of Deganwy Post Office and Village Stores it will be impossible to canvass door to door. Personally I'm not in favour of this means of canvassing as in a way it is a form of Cold Calling. My aim is to prepare flyers to distribute to every household in the ward. I plan to deliver these in time for the distribution of postal ballot papers on 17th April. Of course I will gladly discuss my points with anyone who wishes to know more.

I'm already on the third draft of my flyer, trying to balance the points I want to get across, against not having the flyer full of text which people will not want to read. Some of my customers have asked whether they can have a badge to promote my campaign, hence I'm about to order some of these. Colours and design are to be considered as the red, blues, yellows are taken by the Political Parties. I've decided to keep it simple, black and white, hence look out for these in the shop in about a weeks time.

One of the constraints of being independent is that I do not have the backing and sponsorship of a political party to pay for the election material, this has to be funded from my own pocket. Although this of course means that if successful, I do not have the ties or constraints of those party politics.

We now wait for the list of "Persons Nominated" for election due on Tuesday 8th April. Then I will find out who my competition is. I'm currently aware that Dennis Tew and David Hill (Conservatives) are standing. Vicky MacDonald who stood in the elections 4 years ago will not be standing for the County Council. (Thank you Vicky for your help in pointing me in the direction of some useful information, and good luck with your Town Council election.) As for the other parties or other Independents I'll have to wait and see on Tuesday.

Blog Created

Probably not the best date in the year (1st April) to set up a blog, but here goes.

I've created this blog to follow the progress of my attempt to become a County Councillor for the Deganwy Ward of Conwy County Borough Council in the forthcoming election on 1st May 2008.
If successful I then intend to keep this log updated with my activities as a Councillor.

In this way I hope to share with the reader an idea of the work involved, explanation of my decisions and where possible my views and findings of how the Council works. There will be at time restrictions on details I can include, but my aim is to be as open as possible.